


Start of us

by ChildOfSolace



Category: Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1974), The Great Gatsby (2013)
Genre: Bullies, Crushes, Gen, M/M, Other, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 16:48:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14938121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildOfSolace/pseuds/ChildOfSolace
Summary: Nick is dragged into a Friday Night party by Daisy and her boyfriend, Tom. Just as he expected, he wasn't enjoying a minute of it... until he accidentally meets the host.





	1. Arriving

"All right guys, we're here." Tom grinned as he put the car in park. "Time to get wild and have some fu—" he paused and narrowed his eyes at the brunette. "Seriously, Carraway?"

Nick looked up, unfazed by his _put off_ tone. "Yeah Thomas?"

"Why the hell did you bring a book to a party?" Tom narrowed his eyes. "You're going to lose it when you start making out with the ladies."

Nick snorted. "Who said anything about me making out with any girl?"

"Jeez, you really are gay."

Daisy Fay, Nick's cousin, hits her boyfriend's shoulder lightly. Good thing it wasn't the other girl in the car, Jordan Baker, Daisy's best friend, who had hit him. Because Jordan would've hit harder.

"Leave Nicky alone, Tom." Daisy chided. "He actually agreed to come tonight for once, let him take it all in with his own pace."

Jordan agreed, "and if you have something against queers, I'll remind you that you're gonna make an enemy of me too, Thomas."

"All right, jeez. Bunch of sensitive shits you guys are."

Nick rolled his eyes, wishing all the more he hadn't let Daisy's whims rope him into coming tonight. He just wanted to finish reading _Hamlet_ so he can start on his book report. But his Aunt and Uncle wouldn't have allowed Daisy to go out if Nick wasn't _chaperoning_ his cousin and her boyfriend. Which was ridiculous, with the two being older than him. But Daisy adored Nick, and Tom knew that if Nick finally puts his foot down with all of the drinking and smoking and whatnot then the girl would refuse the peer pressure as well and resist trying to do anything that would earn Nick's reproach.

If Tom wasn't so into Daisy, he really wouldn't bother sticking up or putting up with the guy or keeping his bullies in check every once in a while for the sake of maintaining her favor.

Nick honestly didn't know what Daisy saw in Tom, but if he spent his entire time questioning his cousin's choices he just might go insane.

"Whose party is this again?" Jordan asked.

Tom shrugged. "I don't know."

"What the hell?" Nick raised a brow. "You're attending a party with no knowledge of who your host is?"

Tom scowled, "Don't get snappy with me, scrawny." He hissed.

"Tom." Daisy reprimanded. "Well, Nick, the guy is new in town and he's going to be a student in our school. This is some kind of welcome party for himself. It's some kind of Open-invitation party. I heard he's some kind of heir, to a company or fortune, not really sure which."

"Please use variations of the expression _some kind_ Daisy..." Nick narrowed his eyes, "Great, so any stranger can just walk in. This keeps getting better and better." He looked at Daisy and held her hand. "Maybe we should just go home."

"Oh, no." Tom huffed, getting out of the car and pulling his girlfriend out with him. "We're already here, and I didn't use up most of my gas just for you to chicken out as soon as we got here. I don't care if you want to be here anymore, stay here if you want with your book but you're not ruining this night for me." He dragged Daisy into the three-storey, pristine, white house.

"Well, we can't leave Daisy going along with that guy's whims." Jordan stepped out of the car. "You coming?"

Nick sighed. "Do I have a choice?" He stepped out with Jordan. "Why is she with him again?"

"Because she's the most popular girl, he's the school's number one jock, the student body thinks they should be together, so by default, Daisy thinks she should be with him."

Nick groaned. "Ugh. If she wasn't my cousin..."

"And my best friend," Jordan added. "Yeah, I know right? So, am I going to be your pretend plus one tonight or what?"

Nick waved a careless hand. "No, that's fine. Wouldn't want to get in your way of picking up guys... or girls." He said. "I'm pretty much out already, anyway. Just promise to help me drag Daisy out of this party as soon as things go south, whether or not you're making out with someone."

"You got it, bub."


	2. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick runs into the party's host

Once Nick got inside, it was even worse than he imagined.

A group was playing strip poker at the den, loud music from the backyard was heard probably all the way to Canada, he thought he saw bras hanging from chandeleirs, people were dancing and pressing their bodies flushed against together. And the Alcohol. Even if it was just punch, he could smell that whatever was mixed into the drink is enough to leave a bunch of High schoolers nursing a hang over the following day. As it was, he found some guys and a few girls knocked unconscious with plastic cups in their hands.

He couldn't help it, he rushed upstairs where it seemed to be the least crowded and leave tracking Daisy down to Jordan. But even if the noise was lower on the second floor, it was only at the third floor that Nick felt safe. The second floor had still been crowded by people, and he accidentally stumbled upon couples heavily making out twice when he was trying to find the bathroom.

Luckily, it seems like all the floors had snack tables. So Nick was able to indulge on some cupcakes and nachos. The third floor seems to be the least visited one since it's the one that didn't have a pool nearby, or video games and other amenities teenagers would find entertaining. And Nick found that there's a staircase that would lead up to the roof, which was an open area itself. It seemed like it wasn't fully furnished yet, but there was a single hammock chair hanging around. Getting a view from above, Nick sees that the place was actually larger than he initially thought. It was difficult to realize at first what with him being in a room full of people. There could be about eighty people at the Infinity pool yard alone, but it wasn't as crowded as he first assumed. He wondered how big it would actually seem without all these people.

Nick sighed, taking a seat on the hammock chair and bringing out his book after sending a text to Jordan and Daisy, telling them where he was and to come get him if they were ready to leave.

"Hamlet, huh?"

Nick jumped off the hammock with a start, turning around to find a tall, handsome, blond guy right in front of him. The blond dressed smartly, a collar sticking out of a long-sleeved sweatshirt. Designer jeans tucked in black leather boots. Nick blushed and thanked the night for its concealment.

"I'm sorry to surprise you, Old buddy." The blond chuckled. "I didn't expect anyone to be hanging around here, though. The party is mostly down stairs, after all."

Nick shrugged, "Yeah, well, I'm not really a party person much." He admitted. "I'm mostly here to watch over my cousin, but the crowd was a bit too much for me so I needed to get away." _Why am I making excuses to a complete stranger?_

"I completely understand." The blond nodded. "Dealing with people can be quite troublesome."

Nick grinned, pleased to have found another guy who agreed with him. "You'd think the guy hosting his first party would start off with a small number of friends. This is kinda overwhelming, unless he's really the charismatic, party-going type." He shrugged. "Then again, he doesn't even bother being the one to answer the door and introduce himself."

 _What's wrong with me?_ Nick wondered. _I'm trying too hard to make an impression, that's what. I don't even know the host yet and I'm already speaking bad about him._

Well, that wasn't necessarily true. God knows Nick hears others say worse about people they hardly know, he himself is a victim of that. But that doesn't excuse him from doing the same.

"Perhaps if I meet the guy, I could give him some tips, you think?"

The blond chuckled. "Perhaps you could enlighten me, Old Buddy." He said. "Maybe we can hang out sometimes at school or after, if you're free."

Nick took a while to process that. "Wait, what? You're..."

"Yes, I live here and, therefore, am holding this party." The blond rubbed the back of his head, flashing a blinding smile. "Sorry if I didn't come out to introduce myself initially; let me fix that now. I'm Jay Gatsby, and you are?"

"N-Nick Carraway," he stammered out, taking his outstretched hand to shake. "Uh... I'm sorry... if what I said earlier... offended you."

Jay shrugged. "You're probably right, Old buddy." He smirked. "But if you want to make it up to me, how about we hang out this weekend? I'm new around here and I need someone to show me the go-to places around town. If you're free."

Nick offered a shy smile. "I'll check with my parents, but that does sound fun."

"Awesome," Jay grinned, taking a piece of paper from the notepad on the coffee table near the hammock and scribbling something down. "Call me anytime this Saturday, okay?"

Nick took the piece of paper, "Sure thing."

"I'll see around then, Old buddy."

Even if later on, Tom ended up getting into a bloody fist fight since Nick wasn't around to talk him out of it, causing Daisy to cry and Jordan getting on his case about disappearing as soon as they got in, ending the night with heading home by being picked up by the Buchanans an hour after they just arrived...

Well, Nick couldn't say he regretted coming anymore.


	3. Town

"Mom, I'm heading out." Nick called out from the threshold, putting on his sneakers.

Mrs. Carraway called back to him, "Be home by dinner, and remember to look both ways before crossing the street."

"I got it, thanks, see you."

It was a sunny day, but mostly humid than actually scorching hot. He figured the temperature might drop later in the afternoon, so he brought a jacket just to be safe since he chilled easily. For the mean time, he tied it around his waist. Nick brought out his phone to text Jay to meet him at the nearby park, giving him directions to it.

_**Honk! Honk!** _

Nick blinked, pretty sure he was still at the side walk for any car to bother beeping at him. When he turned towards the road to check if it was actually honking at him, he didn't expect to see the actual guy he was planning on meeting. Jay was driving a Porsche 718 Boxster, Cayman Yellow Majorette. It was an impressive, if not a little distracting. Then again, Jay's hot pink Polo shirt may just as so be the same. It's startling for Nick to note that the first thing that he thinks upon seeing the guy is _He looks hot in pink_ and not _I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world_.

"Morning, Old buddy." Jay took off his shade and flashed him the same startling smile that he gave on the night of their meeting. "I hope you had a safe drive home last night."

Nick chuckled dryly. "Well, yeah, if by safe you also mean _awkward_ , having to listen to my Uncle go off on my cousin."

"Oh right, the maids mentioned a little commotion. But since they told me the butler was handling it, I didn't bother taking care of it myself." Jay frowned, and Nick found that he still looked attractive. "if I had known you were involved, I would've done so. Sorry about that, Old buddy."

Nick blinked wondering if he heard right, "It's not a big deal, I'm sorry we made such a scene about it. More importantly... I didn't know you had maids... or a butler, for that matter." he tried thinking back, if he missed seeing women or a man in domestic service uniforms.

"I told them not to dress in their uniforms for when I have parties, just so my guests wouldn't be put off about it." Jay shrugged. "I didn't want the other kids thinking I'm any different than them just because I come from a little extra money, and surely most teens don't have maids and a butler chaperoning him in his own party."

Nick would like to mention that it didn't seem he had _a little extra_ money at all. Tom had _a little extra money_. And that most teens wouldn't even be allowed to host a big party that required no invitation that just about any who knows about it can waltz in. But he didn't want to sound rude, so he held his tongue. He hopped in to the passenger seat, which was plainly the only seat at all.

"Nice car."

"Thanks, father gave it to me when I got my student's driving permit last year."

Nick had to think about that, Tom didn't even really have his own car. The one he usually used was his dad's. Not because they couldn't afford a new one just for the guy, they could. But he wasn't getting it until after graduating. He wondered what type of parents Jay had, considering that they let him host a no-invite party and would give him an expensive car of his own.

"Old buddy?"

Nick blinked, snapped out of his reverie. "Y-yes?"

"I asked you to show me where to go," Jay smiled fondly at the younger boy, "are you okay?"

Nick blushed, berating himself for being deep in his thoughts in the present of company, a company he actually wanted for once. "Sorry about that, I, uh, was just..." he tried to fish for some kind of excuse, "thinking about... the book report I wanted to get started on later."

"I see, about Hamlet, right? That was the book you were reading last night." Jay nodded, and Nick didn't know why he was saw happy that the guy made an effort to remember such a trivial detail about him. "I hope I'm not putting you out, if you rather start on it immediately, we could take a rain check."

"It's okay," Nick assured quickly. "I could use this time to unwind before I get to work, since I wasn't really able to do that last night. Besides, you seem to know a thing or two about it, so maybe you can give me your opinion about it to help me get started later."

Jay nodded, pleased just as much as Nick was to not have cancelled the... date?

 _Well,_ Nick thought. _it didn't hurt to pretend._

"So where to, Old buddy?"

Nick showed Jay to his _go-to_ places, which consisted of the coffee tea shop where he enjoyed spending most of his afternoons with a cup and book. Sometimes, he'd bring his laptop to work on articles for the school paper and watch movies if he happens to finish ahead of schedule. Of course, he could be doing that in the school library, but they don't really allow food or beverages of any form in there, so the shop was the next best thing. With his allowance, though, the only thing Nick could really afford were the standard drinks like a cappuccino or a single frap, if he had extra cash and he wanted to celebrate something. House tea or House blend coffee was only free twice if he ordered one thing off the menu, and he only ever asked for an extra cup when he was doing extra work or watching a movie in his laptop. It was the first time he actually ordered the substantial food the shop had to offer, or more to the point, Jay bought them food; Potato gratin for himself, and Carbonara for Nick.

"You didn't have to do that," Nick said half heartedly, because he was a real sucker for Italian food and the carbonara dish definitely looked delectable. "I had my own money." he added weakly, because while he did have his own money, it was only enough to buy his regular. 

Jay waved a dismissive hand, "Money is nothing to me," he said. "I have too much than I know what to do with. I could probably use it to end world hunger, but that's mostly my parents choice." 

Nick should really be put off by how the guy so easily flaunt his richness, but Jay says it more in the tone like he was trying to impress someone like he had to prove himself or something rather than the other way around the younger teen can't feel any spite towards his friend. 

_Are we friends now?_ Nick wondered as he forked the pasta, rolling some in before lifting it up. _I really can't tell..._

"Well, would you like to be friends?" 

Nick blinked, his forkful of pasta just in front of his mouth, ready to be consumed. "Excuse me?" 

"You were asking if we were friends," Jay raised a brow, and Nick flushed as he realized his thought had been spoken out loud. "and I'm just confirming if that's what you'd like, because I'm not opposed to the idea myself." 

Nick managed to get a response out, "Er, uh, yeah sure," he cleared his throat. 

"Well, it's nice to be your friend, Mr. Carraway, I hope we continue to get along more in the future." Jay smiled, holding out his hand. 

Nick didn't know what to do, so he just went with what he assumed Jay was expecting and shook his hand. "Heh, this is awkward. Usually, being friends just... you know, happen without needing some kind of confirmation like it's contractual, eheheh. I... I mean, jeez man, what's with the Mr. Carraway? You can just call me Nick." he wanted to slap himself because _Damn, why am I so awkward?_

"Ah," Jay bit his lip, pulling his back and Nick regretted saying what he had if it provoked such a response. He just met him and he already thought that being nervous and chagrined didn't suit the person that is Jay Gatsby. "I'm... sorry Old buddy, I... I'm sorry to say I'm out of practice. Or, I think it's better to say I don't have practice. I never really had to, you know, meet someone in order to make friends. I'm more accustomed to meeting sons and daughters of my parents' business partners." 

Everything Jay says something, Nick feels that he's getting farther and farther out of his league. "Yeah, well," Nick shrugged, trying to get the mood back in comfortable. "can't say I'm in practice, though. I think you're the first person I actually voluntarily tagged along here, I don't have a lot of friends to begin with to ask to come with me, you see." 

"You?" Jay blinked, staring at me. "You don't have much friends? See, I find that very hard to believe. You seem like a pretty nice guy, Old buddy." 

Nick rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I try, but thanks. Though _pretty nice_ isn't exactly the same as _pretty cool_. The people I was with last night were either my relative or someone who tolerated me at best." he said. "I can't really picture then agreeing to chill out with me over here, for a cup of coffee or to watch movies like _Les Miserables_ or _Narnia_ for the sake of comparing it to the books." 

"Well, call me up anytime. I'd be happy to join you," Jay grinned. 

"Really?" Nick blinked. "I mean, I know I mentioned about asking for your opinion for Hamlet, but that's for an actual book report. Les Miz and Narnia is just for fun. Well, my fun. I wouldn't want to put you out." 

Jay waved a dismissive hand, Nick starts wondering if it was a habit. "I have other hobbies, literature being one of them. Trust me, you're not putting me out." he smiled. "and unlike these other people you told me about, I actually think you're pretty cool as you are pretty nice. Generally, I think you're really pretty to look at even." 

Nick almost had a heart attack upon hearing that and had to stop himself from blowing that out of proportion. Calling someone pretty, a guy pretty, might just be another rich person quirk. So he tried not to think much of it, despite wishing he could. "T-thank you, Jay... I think you're pretty... pretty cool too." he added in haste. 

"Glad to hear it, Old buddy." 


	4. Wolfe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Writer's block should be illegal. Anyway, here it is

After finishing their meal, Nick decided to show him to the arcade. Not that he was much of a gamer, but you can be an average type of player and still enjoy it when you're short on cash or just want to pass time. Plainly, Nick didn't want to go home just yet.

Or more to the point, he didn't want to leave Jay's presence anytime soon. He wouldn't even mind calling home, asking his parents permission if he can eat out, and postpone starting his project. But he didn't want to seem creepy, and definitely demanding more time to be spent on this hang out, which was impromptu the day before, would fall under that category. Besides, Nick didn't know if Jay really did enjoy his company or if it was a normal rich person courtesy. Then again, Tom wasn't anything like Gatsby. Never mind common courtesy for the rich, average, or poor, the guy was a total douche. Still, this good be the _decent_ type of rich. Even if Nick thought Jay was pretty good company, he wouldn't go as far as to think that the blond was his friend. He knew him for approximately two days and most people would put their best foot forward during first encounters. 

He wasn't gullible to believe that Jay Gatsby was perfect and, all the more, thought Nick was pretty awesome too. No matter how much he wanted to believe it. Maybe it was true, but he would have to wait for difficult situations and see how Gatsby was going to react to it.

"What game would you like to start at?"

Nick looked around, "Mmm... I always liked _Time Crisis 2_. It's challenging, but the rules are simple enough."

"Let's do it then."

Nick and Jay inserted their coins, with Nick choosing the Blue area leaving Jay with the red one. Turns out, despite the red area being known as standard player one, it was actually his first time playing the game. Since they weren't playing it in a console, the first round offered no tutorial so the blond was left to his own devices. He got the gist of the game, aim and fire. But the other mechanics was a mystery to him.

"Ah! How do you reload? How do you reload?!"

"Look at the screen Jay! Step out of the pedal, step out!"

"How do I fight a helicopter without a machine gun?!"

"Step out and press down on the trigger!"

Ironically, Jay got more points than Nick had in the first stage since the latter had to keep leaving his area to teach the former how to do things like taking cover and switching weapons. They spent most of their tokens and made it to the last stage against the odds that Jay was a beginner. 

"Is that... it is!"

Jay cries out as he was pulled away from the game, causing him to lose one life. Alarmed, Nick looked away from his own screen, causing his own player to lose his last life. He recognized the guy. He was one of his usual bullies. Not that he actively participates, but a passive and constantly present bystander to the group that does it doesn't make him any less guilty. He placed the gun back to the holster, running over to the small group dragging Jay away. "Wait a minute!" He scowls, but then stop himself when he sees that Jay was smirking up at the man.

"I swear, Wolfe, you're gonna give me a heart attack if you keep popping out of nowhere."

Nick frowns, looking at them. "You... know him?"

"It's been a while, huh?" Wolfe looked at Jay, ignoring Nick completely. "Didn't expect that the new kid that moved into town that had your name was actually you. You weren't loaded the last time we saw, that's for sure."

Nick watched Jay carefully, and he raised a brow as Jay flinched before masking it with something of a strained laugh. "Very funny, you mean I wasn't _this_ loaded the last time. But you know, when there's a business break through, there's a... business break through."

"No, what I mean is..." Wolfe's eyes finally fell upon Nick's, giving a chirp whistle. "Woah, what you doing hanging out with the _twink_?"

Nick's face turns flushed in anger and embarrassment, " _Excuse me_?"

"I second this _excuse me_." Jay says, pulling back for Wolfe and giving him a sharp look. "He's my friend, I'll have you know."

Wolfe blinks before laughing, "Dude, you're amazing." he says. "You've improved your threads, your vocabulary is shit sophisticated, now all you gotta do is figure out the right crowd to mingle with. Fortunately, you got me to point you to the right direction. Now that you're living at the high street, your actual peeps should be the preps. Instead of twinkletoes here, you should bring his cousin out to town, now she's a hot chick. Hmm, then again, that's only if she finally cuts the rope with that Tom guy. He's real fancy, too. A bit obnoxious, but better than homo there."

"You know what," Nick holds up his arm, clearly done with the whole situation. "I came out to have a good time, and now, I'm feeling so attacked right now."

Wolfe blinks before laughing out loud once more, "Oh my god, did you just quote a meme? That's so corny, dude." he cackles, "And if you didn't want to be attacked, you should've come out in the first place."

"Shouldn't have..." Nick deadpans, "it's _shouldn't have_..."

This only makes Wolfe crack up some more. "Oh god, now someone should call Captain America, because there's a freakin' Nazi here!"

"That's..." Nick frowns when he realized his vision getting misty, "Oh, fuck it..." he turns around and leaves.

Jay pulls away from Wolfe and runs after him and outside the Arcade, "Wait Old buddy, let me drive you h—"

Nick pulls his arm roughly away. "I can walk home just fine, so no, but thanks. _Jay_ , if that's even your real name. "

"Now what the hell does that mean?"

"Oh, and now suddenly that smooth, fancy talk becomes _What the hell_?" Nick glared at him, "who are you, really?"

Jay frowns, "It's... it's a long story."

"Of course it is," Nick groans, "you know what, I don't care. I need to go finish that damn book report."

But Jay still didn't let go, "It's a long story... that I hope you'll be understanding enough to listen to... Nicky."

"Huh?" Nick froze, his blood running cold suddenly, and he slowly turned back to Jay. That nickname... With the way he said it... Felt so familiar, so achingly familiar.

Jay smiled, chagrined. He reached up a hand to his hair, tousling it a bit so that his neat and waxed style was more disheveled. "Do you remember now?"

"Oh my god," Nick pulls away, raising his hands to cover his mouth. "James?"

Jay's smile widened. No... James smile widened. "It's been a while... Old buddy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't obvious, the actual novel of the Great Gatsby doesn't exist in the universe. Otherwise, bookworms Nick and Jay would know about it and make the parallel connections

**Author's Note:**

> I'm unsure of the hair color of these guys. For instance, according to some people that in the book Nick was a blond and Jay was a brunette. But the movie shows otherwise so since I watched that, I'm going with that.


End file.
